CHAPTER IV.
THE ORDER OF THOUGHT WHICH SURROUNDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF JESUS.
As the cooled earth no longer permits us to understand the phenomena of primitive creation, because the fire which penetrated it is extinct, so deliberate explanations have always appeared somewhat insufficient when applying our timid methods of induction to the revolutions of the creative epochs which have decided the fate of humanity.

Jesus lived at one of those times when the game of public life is freely played, and when the stake of human activity is increased a hundredfold.

Every great part, then, entails death; for such movements suppose liberty and an absence of preventive measures, which could not exist without a terrible alternative.

In these days, man risks little and gains little.

In heroic periods of human activity, man risked all and gained all.